Alkaline primary cell batteries are the preferred choice of batteries for many portable electronic applications due to the high availability of such batteries and the relatively inexpensive cost. Alkaline primary cells are however not preferred for electronic applications that are sensitive to voltage variations due to inherent variations in alkaline cell voltage, which only worsens as the alkaline cells age. This limitation disqualifies alkaline batteries for many portable electronic applications where the application of such battery type would otherwise be desirable.
For example, typical cellular telephone integrated circuit components are designed to operate within a narrow supply voltage range centered about 3.6 Volts. The 3.6 Volt operating voltage is particularly well suited to popular rechargeable battery chemistries including NiMH and Lilon which can sustain a relatively constant output voltage throughout battery lifetime. NiMH and Lilon battery types are however relatively expensive in comparison to alkaline battery types. Thus, it would be desirable to be able to use alkaline primary cells without having to suffer the adverse consequences discussed above.
The present invention generally comprises a power mediation method and circuit for powering a communications controller based device using battery cells that exhibit non stable power delivery characteristics. The invention comprises the use of a servo-loop to create an energy potential in an energy storage element and maintain that required energy potential using the functionality of the communications controller. Thus, the communications controller is used to maintain a minimum power availability on the energy storage element as it concurrently draws required power from the energy storage element.